Elected in 2013 to the Elizabeth City Council at the age of 22, King became one of the youngest elected officials in the nation at the time. His ascent to public office did not come without a fight, however. Opponents challenged his candidacy because of his Elizabeth City State University dormitory address. But with national media attention spurred by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, King went on to win the challenge, and won the election with overwhelming support. King soon became a frequent guest commentator for Huffington Post Live and the HBCU Nation radio show, and the New York Times, Washington Post, BET News, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, and other national outlets featured his story. In 2013, the North Carolina NAACP awarded King their Political Action Trailblazer Award, and the following year, the Young Democrats of North Carolina named him their Young Elected Official of the Year. King previously taught middle and high school history and civics in North Carolina public schools. Most recently, he worked at the North Carolina General Assembly as a Legislative Aide to state Senator Natalie Murdock of Durham County and Representative (now Senator) Sydney Batch of Wake County. King earned a Masters in Public Administration from North Carolina Central University earlier this year.